Can you take damage in excess of your Hit Points?

[Ravingdork]

Is it possible to take more damage than you have Hit Points? Or is the remainder of the damage wasted, and you don't apply any of it?

This is an important distinction for things like possession effects, share life / shield other, and similar abilities where damage is transferred to secondary targets.

For example, let's say I cast share life on the fighter with 25 hit points, but he falls into a river of lava and takes 100 damage. Do I take 12 damage, or 50 damage?

[Wheldrake]

You take 50 damage from shared life, while your fighter buddy takes 100 damage. in PF2 math, 25 hit points minus 100 damage equals zero hit point, unconscious and dying 1.

You have a similar situation trying to use wolvesbane to cure lycanthropy on a low-ish level character. 12d6, 16d6 and 20d6 feels like a lot of damage to take when your character is only around 5th level, but it's still only a single instance of damage, taking you to zero or to the next dying increment.

[Arutema]

Unless the remaster removed the massive damage rule, 25 max HP minus 100 damage = dead, because you have taken damage exceeding double your total HP in one blow.

This may also kill the poor sap who cast share life if 50 damage is twice his max HP.

[thenobledrake]

Arutema wrote:

Unless the remaster removed the massive damage rule, 25 max HP minus 100 damage = dead, because you have taken damage exceeding double your total HP in one blow.

This may also kill the poor sap who cast share life if 50 damage is twice his max HP.

Important to note that massive damage rules key off your maximum hit points, not your current. So 100 damage is an instant death if you have 50 or fewer maximum hit points, but taking 2 damage while at 1 hit point is not.

[Finoan]

I agree with what appears to be the general consensus. You can be dealt more than your current HP total, obviously. And you can take that much damage. This just won't result in having a negative HP total. You will either be at 0 HP and dying, or dead due to massive damage.

So the life sharing spells and abilities that share the damage dealt or the damage taken will transfer the entire amount, not the HP actually lost in the case where the character only lost a few HP before hitting 0 HP.